Beauty & Grooming · Head-to-head
Thinkbaby SPF 50+ Safe Sunscreen vs Badger Baby Mineral Sunscreen SPF 40
Which should you buy? Our verdict on both, pulled from our full The Best Mineral Sunscreens: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) comparison.
Thinkbaby is the default buy: non-nano zinc oxide, no SPF booster in the inactives, 80-minute water resistance and a family-size tube. Badger is the runner-up for ingredient purists: seven ingredients, no booster and no fragrance, at the cost of SPF 40 and a 40-minute water rating.
Thinkbaby SPF 50+ Safe Sunscreen
Buy itThe pediatric benchmark: 23.4 percent non-nano zinc oxide, 80-minute water resistance, reef safe, in 3 and 6 oz tubes.
- Broad-spectrum SPF 50+ on 23.4 percent non-nano zinc oxide as the only active, rated water resistant for 80 minutes.
- No chemical SPF booster in the inactive list: the base is water, glycerin and plant oils (sunflower, jojoba, olive, cranberry and raspberry seed).
- Reef safe, biodegradable and pediatrician-dermatologist tested per the brand, made in the USA, in 3 and 6 oz tubes.
- Contains natural fragrance oil and grapefruit peel oil, so it is not fragrance-free; very reactive skin may prefer Badger.
- Still a mineral sunscreen: owners report a white cast on deeper skin tones and a minute of rubbing in.
- The inactive list is long by mineral standards; buyers who want the shortest label will prefer Badger.
Badger Baby Mineral Sunscreen SPF 40
Buy itThe simplest formula: zinc oxide plus seven organic base ingredients, no booster, no fragrance.
- 22.5 percent clear non-nano zinc oxide plus seven base ingredients (organic sunflower oil, beeswax, jojoba oil, sunflower vitamin E, calendula, chamomile oil and seabuckthorn extract), 98 percent organic and certified non-GMO.
- Hypoallergenic, pediatrician tested and reef friendly per Badger, with no fragrance, water or preservative on the label at all.
- Waterless balm-style cream in a 2.9 fl oz tube made with 50 percent recycled plastic.
- SPF 40 rather than 50, and Badger rates it water resistant for 40 minutes, half the time of the other three.
- The thickest, whitest formula here; Badger tells you to knead the tube and rub in to reduce whitening.
- A small tube for a family beach day; expect to buy more than one.
Side by side
| Thinkbaby SPF 50+ Safe Sunscreen | Badger Baby Mineral Sunscreen SPF 40 | |
|---|---|---|
| Our verdict | Buy | Buy |
| Best for | Families and anyone who wants a booster-free mineral sunscreen that goes on without a fight. | Ingredient purists and reactive skin who want the shortest label and accept the white cast and a 40-minute reapply clock. |
| Price tier | $ · budget | $ · budget |
The bottom line
Our overall pick is the Thinkbaby SPF 50+ Safe Sunscreen - The pediatric benchmark: 23.4 percent non-nano zinc oxide, 80-minute water resistance, reef safe, in 3 and 6 oz tubes. Choose the Badger Baby Mineral Sunscreen SPF 40 instead if ingredient purists and reactive skin who want the shortest label and accept the white cast and a 40-minute reapply clock.
Want the full picture, including the other options we compared and the popular one we'd skip? Read the complete The Best Mineral Sunscreens: 4 Compared (and One to Skip).